BIG PROJECT
Always dreamed of having a CANE-FRAMED TREE or three? Here’s how to plant your own…
Adore autumn SPECIAL
Nearly every designer garden, big or small, features pleached trees these days. For centuries they’ve been used creatively in country-house gardens, and present-day designers have followed suit to add a luxe look when reshaping big-budget gardens – but these shapely trees are no longer the preserve of the grandest of schemes. Garden designers are increasingly using pleached trees in small plots, and they’re a great fit: their compact shape and minimal footprint means they work hard for their space and they’re a brilliant way to screen out overlooking neighbours. You don’t need to have your plot professionally designed to enjoy all the benefits of a pleached tree or three. With two extra pairs of hands to help you, planting a pleached tree in your garden is easily achieved in an afternoon, with no green fingers required. Oh, and you can buy one for less than £150!
Don’t feel you need to plant a whole fence-line of trees either – just one might be enough to screen out a nosy neighbour, or provide shelter and shade to a seating area.
November is the perfect time to get planting. Most trees aren’t busy growing at this time of year so it’s a great time to move them and there’s still a little warmth in the soil and enough moisture to encourage those roots to settle into their new home. So by next spring, your tree will feel at home, ready to get growing, and will cope with the stress of summer heat far better.
Our fave trees to try
✽ BEST FOR PRIVACY Portuguese laurel For dense lustrous growth that provides a year-round screen, evergreen Prunus lusitanica is a great choice for maximum privacy. It’ll be happy in a shadier spot too. From £371.99 hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk
✽ BEST FOR LOW-MAINTENANCE Holly oak Growing only 10-20cm a year, Quercus ilex is a fab choice for a low-maintenance garden. The lustrous evergreen foliage will still need pruning but it’ll be a smaller job! From £210 paramountplants.co.uk
✽ BEST FOR YEAR-ROUND LOVELINESS ‘Red Robin’ Evergreen Photinia fraseri looks gorgeous 12 months of the year and is especially lovely when new foliage unfurls a vivacious red. Clip regularly for best colour. From £304 charellagardens.co.uk
✽ BEST FOR AUTUMN COLOUR Hornbeam The foliage of Carpinus betulus turns a glorious golden-yellow in autumn and dries out through winter to a light brown. The leaves stay on the tree until new shoots emerge in spring. From £191.50 grasslands.co.uk
✽ BEST FOR A HORIZONTAL FRAME London plane A deciduous tree with lush leaves and interesting mottled bark, Platanus acerifolia is the perfect parasol tree to create a sha
